Ian Down

Dec 15, 2023 | cklbradio.com | Ian Down

For the first time ever, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease has been identified in the Northwest Territories. That’s according to the territory’s Department of Health and Social Services on Thursday. As of yet, there are no confirmed human cases of the disease. But earlier this month, a Fort Simpson-area dog that had recently been in a southern province was confirmed to be carrying a tick with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Dec 14, 2023 | cklbradio.com | Ian Down

When Tanya Snow’s son Kaize was young, he asked her a profound question: “Where did I come from?”“On the spot, I didn’t know how to respond,” she says. “But I also know at that young age, kids are quite impressionable. So what you share with them, they’re going to carry into their youth, teenage years and adulthood.

Dec 13, 2023 | cklbradio.com | Ian Down

Until recently, Brandon Buggins didn’t really know the other men in his community, even the ones he would casually greet out in public. Buggins was a closed book too, even when struggling with mental illness, addiction, and the pressures of fatherhood: “It’s really tough to be able to come out of your shell and ask for help when, I know for myself, I was always taught not to show my emotions, not to cry,” he says.

Dec 12, 2023 | cklbradio.com | Ian Down

Glenn Buggins is no stranger to fire. He spent years as a firefighter, battling blazes as far away as Ontario. And fire has twice made him homeless. In 2019, Buggins, a lifelong resident of K’atl’odeeche First Nation, found himself living in a log cabin in the community. But after living in a cabin with no central heating and struggling for food, he moved to Hay River’s Mackenzie Place high rise.

Dec 11, 2023 | cklbradio.com | Ian Down

R.J. Simpson, the MLA for Hay River North and former cabinet minister, was elected Premier of the Northwest Territories last week. We sat down with the new premier to discuss UNDRIP, relationships with Indigenous communities, his record as Minister of Education, Culture, and Employment, and other issues. Here’s that conversation, edited for length and clarity:Ian Down: All right. Excellent. So I guess we’ll do some easier questions, then maybe some harder questions, then a few easier questions.